‘Land in Her Own Name’ exhibit now open in Moorhead

Research has been compiled about the North Dakota men who made the lands their own through hard work and diligence, but very little was known about the independent women who homesteaded across the state and lived as neighbors alongside them.

Starting in the 1870s, thousands of single, divorced, and widowed women in North Dakota took advantage of the government’s offer of “free land” and filed claims in their own names. These women of every ethnicity and background, some barely past their teens and some already in their 60s made their homes, worked the land, and raised families in an era and area that was not only difficult but dangerous.

To acknowledge these women and their accomplishments, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County will have on display for a limited time “Land in Her Own Name,” a traveling exhibit from the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

The exhibit will be on display at the Hjemkomst Center until March 6. This exhibit presents the findings of Dr. H. Elaine Lindgren, a retired North Dakota State University sociology professor and author of “Land in Her Own Name,” who researched the history of women homesteaders in North Dakota.

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County Executive Director Dr. Maureen Kelly Jonason said: “Although created more than fifteen years ago, this exhibit’s themes remain relevant today as younger women seek powerful role models from the past.”

Prior to Lindgren’s work, this topic had been relatively neglected, but thanks to her efforts, these women who triumphed on the Plains will have voices that will echo throughout history. They persevered, working to build new communities, and thus became an integral part of North Dakota’s rich heritage. Along with her research, Lindgren was able to interview surviving women homesteaders for a personal look into what it was like for a woman to take the land in her own name. From the handwriting of letters and diaries and from the many photographs and stories of the survivors, a picture emerges of the women whose names we remember with the land. A presentation by Lindgren is being planned.

February will be a special month at the Hjemkomst Center museum. In addition to the opening of Land in Her Own Name, A Woman’s Perspective on Ritual, a multimedia art exhibition, opens on Feb. 1. This non-juried exhibit allows for both emerging and experienced artists to presents diverse works of various media. In addition, “Prairie Daughters: the Art and Lives of Annie Stein and Orabel Thortvedt,” explores the lives of two local female artists who preserved their family histories and made a name for themselves before there was an art scene of Fargo-Moorhead.

This exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the Lake Region Arts Council through a Minnesota State Legislative appropriation. Admission to see all three exhibits is included in the regular museum admission rate of $8 for adults, $7 for college students and senior citizens, and $6 for children over five.

For more information, call 218-299-5511 or visit www.hcscconline.org. The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is located in the Hjemkomst Center at 202 First Avenue North in Moorhead, Minn.

Tags: diversions, history